Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,110 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,321 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,560,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $477,929,000 after purchasing an additional 456,168 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,553,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $479,073,000 after buying an additional 658,420 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 3.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $417,561,000 after buying an additional 470,003 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 13,118,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $379,657,000 after buying an additional 544,418 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PFE traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $26.24. 7,115,129 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,584,961. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.